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removed Category:Pterosaurs; added Category:Pterodactyloids using HotCat

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{{italictitle}}{{speciesbox
| name = ''Samrukia''
| fossil_range = [[Late Cretaceous]], {{fossil range|84}}
| image =
| image_caption =
| genus = Samrukia
| species = nessovi
| parent_authority = [[Darren Naish|Naish]] ''et al.'', 2012
| authority = Naish ''et al.'', 2012
}}
'''''Samrukia''''' is a genus of large [[Cretaceous]] [[pterosaur]]s known only from a single [[ramus of the mandible|lower jaw]] discovered in [[Kazakhstan]]. The [[holotype]] and only known specimen was collected from the [[Santonian]]-[[Campanian]] age [[Bostobynskaya Formation]] in [[Kyzylorda District]]. It was described by [[Darren Naish]], [[Gareth Dyke]], Andrea Cau, François Escuillié, and [[Pascal Godefroit]] in 2012, and the [[type species]] is named '''''Samrukia nessovi'''''. The species is named after [[Lev Nessov]], a paleontologist, and the genus is named after [[Samruk]], a magical bird of [[Kazakh folklore]].

==Classification==
The type specimen of ''Samrukia'' was at first believed to belong to an [[oviraptorosauria]]n [[theropod]] dinosaur. An initial [[cladistic]] analysis by Naish ''et al.'' found ''Samrukia nessovi'' instead to be a basal member of the bird lineage [[Ornithuromorpha]]. They interpreted ''Samrukia'' as a very large bird (the jawbone is twice as long as that of an [[ostrich]]), but noted that it is not known whether ''Samrukia'' would have been able to fly (in which case they would have had wingspans of roughly {{convert|4|m|ft|abbr=on}}) or not (in which case they would have been around {{convert|2|–|3|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall).<ref name=Samrukia></ref><ref name="tetzoo"/>

A subsequent analysis published by [[Eric Buffetaut]] in 2011 challenged the interpretation of ''Samrukia nessovi'' as a bird. Buffetaut challenged the identification of certain "avian" characteristics identified by Naish ''et al.'', claiming that none were definitely avian and that many were in fact well-known among [[pterosaur]]s. He noted that all purported [[autapomorphies]] of ''Samrukia'', the unique traits used to set it apart from other birds, are shared with pterosaurs. He also criticized the earlier cladistic analysis for not including pterosaurs, but only birds and other theropod dinosaurs. Buffetaut stated that the species is "clearly a large pterosaur, not a giant bird."<ref name=buffetaut2011>Buffetaut, E. (2011). "''Samrukia nessovi'', from the Late Cretaceous of Kazakhstan: A large pterosaur, not a giant bird." ''Annales de Paléontologie'', '''97'''(3–4): 133–138. {{doi|10.1016/j.annpal.2011.10.001}}</ref>

One of the original researchers who described ''Samrukia'', Darren Naish, agreed with Buffetaut's re-assessment. Naish wrote on his ''[[Scientific American]]'' Web log ''Tetrapod Zoology'': "Working on fragmentary material is dangerous since you can often get things very, very wrong, and I realised within a few days of the paper appearing that ''Samrukia'' was no bird. It seemed, in fact, to be a pterosaur."<ref name=tetzoo2>{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2012/01/25/happy-6th-birthday-tetrapod-zoology-part-ii/|title=Happy 6th Birthday, Tetrapod Zoology (part II)|last1 = Naish|first1 = Darren|work=Tetrapod Zoology|date=January 5, 2012|accessdate=May 31, 2012}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="tetzoo">{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/2011/08/09/say-hello-to-samrukia/|title=Big birds in the Cretaceous of Central Asia: say hello to ''Samrukia''|last1 = Naish|first1 = Darren|work=Tetrapod Zoology|date=August 9, 2011|accessdate=August 9, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="Samrukia">{{cite journal |authors=Naish, D., Dyke, G., Cau, A., Escuillié, F., and Godefroit, P. |year=2012 |title=A gigantic bird from the Upper Cretaceous of Central Asia |journal=Biology Letters |volume=8|number=1|pages= 97–100|doi=10.1098/rsbl.2011.0683 |pmid=21835881 |pmc=3259976}}</ref>
}}
{{portal|Paleontology}}
[[Category:Late Cretaceous pterosaurs of Asia]]
[[Category:Pterodactyloids]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 2012]]
[[Category:Fossils of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Darren Naish]]

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Samrukia - Revision history

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Abyssal: removed Category:Pterosaurs; added Category:Pterodactyloids using HotCat